Combination well tool



M. A. RYAN COMBINATION WELL TOOL March 21, 1950 Filed Oct. 27. 1947 llllllll IIIII INVENToR.

' MARTIN A. RYAN BY E ATTORNEYS E Patented Mar. 21, 1950 Martin A. Ryan, Bartlesville, Okla., assigno'rftl) Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware application october 27, 1947, serial No. 782,244

3 Claims.

This invention relates to well drilling and jetting tools. In a more specific modication it relates to a well drilling and jetting tool with which drilling may be done with circulation down the drill stem and up around the outside of the drill stem or by reverse circulation-and with which the jetting may be'done by direct circulation at any time by raising the bit a small distance above the bottom of the hole.

It is very useful in the drilling of Wells and in the redrilling and/or cleaning of wells to be able to force a fine high powered hydraulic jet against the walls of the well to dislodge and wash downmaterial adherrin'g-to the same. Difficulties have been experienced with prior art tools in that in order to jet, either the drill string must be removed which takes-a long time and has a swabbing action which is destructive of the well, or else considerable time and dilculty is vexperienced in dropping som-e sort of plug down the drill stem and in retrieving the same when the jetting is finished and drilling is vto be resumed. While in theory a plug may be manipulated up and down the inside oi the drill stem, in practice such plugs often times hang up which may cause serious diculty ranging from disassembling the entire drill stem to a twist'oi of the drill stein and resulting fishing job to recover the lower end of the same. In all events considerable time isvconsumed in making the changeover 'from drilling to jetting and vice versa.

One object oi the present invention is to provide a tool which can be used in rotary well drilling operations to drill a well by reverse circulation, or by normal circulation, whichever is preferred, and to jet the well with a-radialfjet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool capable of carrying out the above object in which the operator can switch from drilling to jetting operations and vice versa in minimum time without removing tools from the well and without waiting for plugs to travel the length of the drill stem or being retrieved.

Another object is to provide a well drilling and jetting tool in which there is a complete and positive shut off of circulation to the bit while jetting and yet when drilling the drilling fluid is trans*- mitted directly to or from the point adjacent the cutting elements lon the cutting head of thedrill bit so that the same may be kept clean.

A further object is to provide a simple and rugged device with minimum number of moving parts which will be trouble free and foolproof in operation, inexpensive in construction and easy to assemble.

Numerousother'objects andadvantag'es will bel apparent upon `reading the accompanying specication, claims *and drawings.

in Athe drawings:

Figure 1 -is ya cross sectional elevation of a well drilling and jetting tool embodying the `present invention with the drill'bitquarter sawed to show details -o'f construction.

Figure 2 is 'la cross section taken along the line Z-Bof-F'igure 1 -l'ookingin 'the direction indicated.

Figure- 3 is a cross section taken along ythe line 37-3 of-Figure-llookinglin-the direction indicated.

Figure 4 is a cross section `taken along the line @-4 of Figure 1 lookingiin'tl'ie directionfindicated.

Figure 5 is a cross section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 1 looking in the direction indicated.

Figure 6 is across sectional view of a modified formlof a portionc'f awell drilling and jetting tool embodying rny invention.

In Figure 1 aconventional drillfstem 1 preferably provided with conventional tool joints 8 is attached to a sub .fl/having one or more( but preferably ndt-more than@ relatively small diameter radial jet-holes I ll; Whiletlie sub'mayhave a bore which isa'n'e'Xten'si'on-of bore H andstill embody the present inventionit is preferred to enlarge bore `Il and this'is done for purposes of illustration by a plurality lrof stepped bores l2 and I3 although the'enl'argemehtfcould be by means of a tapered bore as showninFigure 6. A bull plug or blank I4 closes the top of a tubular drill bit shank IE-havinglaretaining head (or lugs) i6 and a non-circular (preferably square) section l1 which is slideable coupled 4to and driven in rotation by acorres'pondinglly shaped element i8 preferably closely -ttihg iT. v.As-shov'v'i'i in the drawing element '|58 lhas a square holeftting-square shank Il. Part 8 Vcan be replace'dby aheavy drill collar (not shown).

Element i8 is in elfe'ct a lower portion of reduced internal crosfssectionalvareaof drill stem 1, 8 and 9 bebause'jitsibore iso'f smaller diameter than bore lI3 randv in some instances may be the same size -a'sb'o'r'e vll of drill stem l. `Element i8 is preferably secured' -tot) by suitable threads as shown but obviously 'throughout the entire invention different'wellilznown means of securing parts'together may be substituted without invention. Threads are lp'referre'd over welding because of ease of disassembly although often times threads may be tacked 'together' in assemblage by a small spot weld between "the 'parts if desired. rIhis isl not' preferred, however, as it is customary to rely 'o'nrbta'tion 'of the drill stem in one direction only to maintain the threads in assembled relation.

Attached to shank I1 is a cutting head I9 and parts IS, Il and I9 constitute a drill bit. Bit cooling and washing fluid is supplied down drill stern 'I in normal circulation through passages Ii, chamber I3 through holes 201 and passages 2l and 22 which last passages communicate with the face of the bit through openings 23 adjacent the cutting elements or blades 24.

Figure 2 shows jet holes I0 to be of relatively small diameter compared to the diameter of bore II of drill stem 9.

Figure 3 shows how a retaining head, or lug I6, provides clearance for fluid past the same by means of slots between lugs i6 of the retaining head. Obviously head I6 could be a continuous enlargement of square shank Il and the drilling iiuid could pass in the annular space between 16 and 9. Obviously lug I6 could be extended to contact or slide on 9 and rely entirely on the slots between the lugs to allow the fluid to pass. The form shown is preferred but is not the only type that may be used as the only function of lug It is to prevent bit I9 from falling out of the bottom of the drill stem when the drill stem is raised. The form shown of lug I6 is preferred because it will stir up, crush or destroy any formation cuttings that get into chamber I3 better than the other suggested forms for retaining head I6.

Figure 4 illustrates the form which holes 2G may take in providing access to hole 2I. Holes 2U and element I3 act as a valve.

Figure 5 shows the drive connection between elements VI and I8 which is preferably by means of square cross sectional engagement although other non-circular cross sectional engagement will give good results but will not be quite as rugged. The corners of I'I and I8 are preferably rounded or iilleted with a small radius in order to reduce strains and stresses.

In Figure 6 threads 25 screw into a joint similar to 8 so that body 26 replaces body 9 of Figure l. Body 26 has a bore 2l and space '28 leading to jet holes 2s and in place of drive member I8 drive member 3B is provided with a lip 3l extending above jet holes 29 and provided with a square hole 32 for driving engagement with il of Figure l.

Operation Figure l shows the well drilling and jetting tool in its drilling position. The drill stem 'l is rotated in the usual manner and as blades 2li are on the bottom of the hole, holes 26 stay inside of space I3 so that drilling fluid can be circulated in reverse circulation down the well around stem in through openings 23, 2l, 2G, I3 and I2 and up bore II to the surface of the ground. If desired, normal circulation can be used instead, in which case the drilling fluid comes down bore II through I2, I3, 2G and 2I and out openings 23 and back up the well to the surface around drill stem 1. While either normal or reverse circulation can be used in either drilling a new well or cleaning out an old one it is generally considered preferable to use reverse circulation in cleaning out an old well and normal circulation in drilling a new well. My tool, however, allows either type of circuation so that the driller may use either type in either a new or old well which makes the tool more versatile.

During these drilling operations some drilling fluid will pass through jet holes IU, but as they are small in comparison to the other passages there will be relatively little flow through holes I0 and as the pressure at opposite ends of hole l0 will not vary greatly the fluid will not pass through holes l fast enough to give any jetting action. As shank l1 is fairly closely tted by element I8 hardly any fluid will pass between the same but all of the fluid will use passage 2l instead.

As all the threads in this device are of the same hand depending on the proposed direction of rotation (preferably drill stem l is always rotated clockwise and all threads are right hand threads) and as element I8 is splined to shank il by a square slideable connection there is a positive drive at all times on blades 24 from drill stem 1.

Upon raising the drill stem 'I holes 2U pass down into I8 and circulation is immediately stopped through passage 2 I. If the drilling fluid is forced down bore Il it will emerge from holes IQ as a stin radial jet which will wash the wall with considerable force as the reduction of diameter from the relatively large area of II to the small area of holes Il results in powerful jetting action and due to the constriction of holes Ill there will be much less pressure outside the holes than inside the holes so that high velocity will be attained by the jet.

An important feature of the invention is that the jetting action takes place immediately upon raising the drill stem a short distance which is a great advantage over devices requiring lengthy manipulations or waiting for elements to take their place. Another advantage is that while jetting none of the liquid passes into the bit and yet after jetting while raising the drill stem and lowering the same the tool is ready to drill almost instantaneously after the drill bit is placed on the bottom again.

Another operational advantage is that liquid passing down the drill stem passes internally through passage 2| and does not get in the space between Il and i8. This becomes additionally important during reverse circulation when cuttings are entering holes 23 and passing up through drill stem l. Such cuttings might easily cause trouble if they entered between Il and I8. During direct circulation of the drilling uid (by drilling fluid it is understood that a liquid containing suspended solid material such as clay is generally used although other drilling fluids known to the prior art may be employed) the drilling fluid emerges from holes 23 adjacent cutting elements 24 where it is best adapted to Clean the same and during reverse circulation holes 23 are similarly positioned where they are best adapted to pick up the cuttings from blades 24.

While shtail bit blades 24 have been shown in the illustrated embodiment of Figure 1 for purposes of illustration, primarily because they are easy to draw, not only ishtail blades can be used in the invention as roller cutters, roller cone cutters, disk bits, drag bits and all the other cutting elements of the prior art may be employed on the cutting head I 9 wit-hout invention and the device will still embody the present invention. Preferably holes 23 will be positioned adjacent whatever cutting surfaces are employed and the exact design of passages 22 and holes 23 may be varied in an obvious manner to be adjacent to these other types of cutting surfaces.

The operation of Figure 6 is the same as that of Figure l except that collar 3l allows jets 29 to be below the point at which holes 2U are out off by 3 I. A space is left at 28 below holes 28 so S that any cuttings accumulating there may be compressed,upon reversal of circulation as in reverse circulation drilling water coming in holes 29 will aid in preventing material piling up in 2X3 above holes 29.

While I have shown in the drawings, several particular illustrative forms of my invention, various modiiications may be made in the same and in the various features oi construction, without materially changing the invention therein, and formal changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention described without departing from the spirit or substance of the broad invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A well drilling and jetting tool comprising in combination a drill bit having a cutting head and a retaining head connected together by an extended intermediate non-circular shank oi reduced cross sectional area, said retaining head forming a laterally-projecting shoulder at the end of said shank, cutting elements on said cutting head, said bit having an internal passageway therethrough extending from an opening in said cutting head adjacent said cutting elements to an opening in the side of said shank adjacent said retaining head, and a tubular drill stem having a lower portion of reduced internal cross sectional area forming a non-circular bore slidably and non-rotatably engaging said shank along a vertical distance greater than the vertical extent of the opening in the side of said shank but less than the length oi said shank below the top of said opening, said lower portion of reduced internai cross sectional area also forming an inwardly projecting shoulder to engage the laterally-extending shoulder of said shank to limit downward movement of said shank through said drill stern, the sliding movement being suicient to cover the passageway opening in the side of said shank when the opposing shoulders are in engagement and to uncover at least a portion of said opening as said shank rises within said drill stem, said tubular drill stem having a transverse jetting passage extending from the interior to the exterior of said drill stem, said Shank and said internal passage forming a valve with said lower portion of said drill stem having an open and a closed position.

2. A well drilling and jetting tool comprising in combination a drill bit having a cutting head, a non-circular shank extending upwardly of said head and having a laterally, outwardly-extending projection at its opposite end, said bit having an internal passageway therethrough from an opening in said cutting head to an opening in the side of said shank adjacent said lateral projection, a tubular drill stem having an inwardly-projecting iiange non-rotatably and slidably engaging said shank and closely tting said shank in all positions, said inward ange having a longitudinal extent greater than the vertical extent of the opening in the side of said shank but less than 6 the length of said shank below the top of said opening, the lateral projection of said shank -being adapted to engage the inwardly projecting nange of said drill stem to limit downward movement of said drill bit, the sliding movement of said shank within said stem being suiiicient to cover the passageway opening in the side of said shank when the projection and iiange are inv engagement and to uncover at least a portion of said opening when the shank rises within the stem, said drill stem having a transverse jetting passage extending from the interior to the exterior of said drill stem.

8. A well drilling and jetting tool comprising in combination a drill stem formed with a longitudinal bore therein, the inner walls of said stern forming a non-circular portion of said bore having an upper shoulder, above which said bore is of greater cross sectional area than in said portion, said stem having a transverse jetting passage extending from the bore above said shoulder to the exterior of the stem, a drill bit having a cutting head and a retaining head connected by an intermediate shank of reduced cross sectional area, at least a portion of said shank being disposed in and closely tting the cross sectional area of the non-circular portion of said bore, said cutting head being rigidly connected to said shank, said drill bit being thereby non-rotatably connected to said stem for longitudinal sliding movement relative thereto with said retaining head above said shoulder and contacting the same in a iirst longitudinal position, and with said cutting head below said shoulder and contacting said stern in a second longitudinal position, said drill bit having an internal passage therein extending and communicating from the exterior of said shank below and in the vicinity of said retaining head to the exterior of said cutting head, the extent of relative longitudinal sliding movement between the drill bit and stem being such that said shoulder and said shank form a valve controlling ilow through said passage with said passage in communication with the bore above said shoulder in said iirst position and closed from such communication by said shoulder in said second position.

MARTIN A. RYAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 542,542 Symonds July 9, 1895 r119,004 Hoffman Jan. 27, 1903 1,639,065 Thagard Aug. 16, 1927 1,888,814 Aberchrombie Nov. 22, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 32,328 Switzerland Sept. 7, 1904 

